The present invention relates generally to an electrical connector and, more particularly, to a locking mechanism for a rectangular electrical connector.
There are basically two types of electrical connectors, namely, circular and rectangular. The plug and receptacle members of the circular connector are normally interlocked by either a threaded coupling nut or a bayonet coupling nut. Rectangular connectors utilize mounting surfaces or screws through flanges on the plug and receptacle shells to hold the connectors in their mated condition.
Some connectors embody self-locking mechanisms contained in or attached to the connector shells to provide an interlock between the connector halves and to maintain the connector in the mated condition. The self-locking mechanisms previously embodied in rectangular connectors have been complicated and bulky in nature which results in an increase in cost, an increase in weight, and a reduction in reliability of the connectors. Additionally, the bulkiness of these mechanisms places a limitation on the utilization of the connectors in those applications where connector size is important.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,853 to Panek et al. discloses a self-locking mechanism for a circular connector which has been referred to as a "ring lock." In this connector, matching grooves are formed in the outer surface of the plug shell and the inner surface of the receptacle shell. The grooves are aligned when the shells are fully mated. The groove in the plug shell is deeper than the groove in the receptacle shell. A split ring is mounted in the grooves. In its normal unstressed condition the ring is lodged in both the grooves thereby interlocking the shells of the mating plug and receptacle halves of the connector. The locking ring is retained in its locking position by a radially extending pin disposed between the free ends of the split ring. When the pin is removed the split ring is free to be contacted upon application of an axially directed unmating force to the mating connector members. A similar ring lock arrangement for a pipe joint is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,521,911.
Heretofore, no one has applied the ring lock principle to a rectangular connector. That is the object of the present invention. By doing so, a self-locking rectangular connector may be provided which is neither complicated nor bulky as the other self-locking rectangular connectors mentioned hereinbefore. The decrease in comparative complexity decreases the cost and increases the reliability of the connector. The decrease in bulkiness allows the connector to be utilized in applications where space is an important factor.